I
loved the way the author uses a deliberate old-style (you may even call it
“stilted”) English voice in telling a bittersweet life story of an old-time
English butler who is constantly struggling (but not admitting the struggle)
between loyalty to his profession and his heart’s true feelings.
After
closing the book, one thought has been hovering in my mind: did the author mean
this to be a nuanced satire of certain old English ways and values, or is the
novel simply an honest and sympathetic account of the life of one stiff-upper-lipped
English butler who sacrifices his emotional life for what he regards as his
ideal of being a truly professional butler, which literally means putting his
master’s interests before anything else?
Perhaps
it is a blending of both. One thing that grates me, though, is the seemingly blatant callousness that the protagonist exhibits, especially in the incident of his father’s dying
hour.
I’m
giving the book 3.7 stars.
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